Jim Commentucci / The Post-Standard, 2005 Jose Pagcaliwagan and his wife, Emma, are seen in 2005 in the World War II veteran's room at the James Square Nursing Home in Syracuse.

Jose "Joe" Pagcaliwagan died before the United States could follow through on a 68-year-old promise to pay him for his service as a teenage soldier in the Philippines during World War II.

Pagcaliwagan, 81, died July 23.

The $787 billion economic stimulus package contains $198 million to pay members of guerilla forces who helped the United States fight the Japanese.

In 1941, Pagcaliwagan joined a group that cooperated with the U.S. Armed Forces of the Far East, said his wife, Emma. At first, the U.S. offered to compensate these soldiers, but later said the work was not deemed official U.S. military service.

In February, the belated compensation made its way into the economic stimulus package. The bill included a $15,000 payment for each living Filipino veteran who became a U.S. citizen and $9,000 for those who did not become citizens. The Department of Veterans Affairs said it would award the money to a veteran's spouse if the veteran died after applying.

Emma Pagcaliwagan said she applied for the money in the spring, after her husband's story was featured in The Post-Standard. She said the government office that handles the applications in the Philippines lost the application. So, she said, she sent in another one. She said no one has replied.

If she gets the money, she said, she would like to donate it to charities in the Philippines.

Services are scheduled for 9 a.m. Saturday at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception with burial to follow in the Onondaga County Veterans Cemetery.